Last look at new labor policies with Bill Samuel before his retirement

Bill Samuel, Government Affairs Director of the AFL-CIO, joined the America’s Work Force Union Podcast for his final appearance in his current position. Samuel talked about his history in Labor and his memories on the show. He also spoke on the work President Joe Biden has done to help pass a foreign aid package and the Biden Administration's announcement of the final rules on overtime for certain salaried employees.

Recently, there has been a lot of work by the President, the speaker of the House, and the majority leaders in the Senate to get a deal done for foreign aid. Samuel said that the $95 million aid package was a bipartisan agreement, and it set an example of how bipartisan work can be done in the Senate as it passed by a 79-18 vote. He talked about the work done behind the scenes across the aisle to get a deal down. 

Samuel explained that the foreign aid package doesn’t apply to government spending plans. He said that the Senate has already agreed to a spending bill extension, and it will extend funding for government programs through September, he said. While the funding levels are not where many in the labor movement would like, Samuel hopes this agreement will be the first step to getting a new budget for the next fiscal year.

Finally, Samuel talked about the rule announced by the Biden Administration that updates overtime rules for some salaried workers. He said the rule would make it so millions more Americans would be paid overtime for any hours worked over 40 hours a week. The threshold that dictates which salary workers are eligible for the new overtime rules has two increases, one on July 1 and the second on Jan. 1, 2025.

To hear more from Samuel’s last appearance as the Government Affairs Director of the AFL-CIO, please listen to the show above.